Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens (A Reimagining)
by TheThirdHallow
Summary: This is a re-imagining of Episode VII, with VIII and IX soon to follow. I know not everyone will like it, but I wanted to share it for those who do.
1. Chapter 1

****So I'm going to be starting over here. I stopped posting new parts because I was procrastinating too much and was lacking confidence in my work. But the COVID-19 pandemic kind of forced me to get over that and sit down to finish it. I didn't want to post anything new until I did, but I also (as of writing this) will delete older posts and periodically post new ones. This here is a reimagining of The Force Awakens with 8 and 9 to follow in the near future. I mostly chose to do this for myself as a way to get my version of the trilogy out there, but it also would be cool to see if anyone ends up liking it. I grew up watching the original trilogy and was personally disappointed by the Disney trilogy (especially 9) and wanted to write my own version of how I would have liked to have seen it happen. To anyone that did like the trilogy, that's totally fine and I absolutely won't knock on you for doing so.**

**A couple things I wanted to point out first. One, I got rid of a couple characters and replaced them with new ones I created. Finn, Poe, and Snoke are not in this. The main reason for this was because I had thought of too much backstory and ideas that I liked for these new characters to want to discard them and not use them. I have come across a lot of comments and such via Youtube and articles about potential ideas for better ways to write Finn, given that his arc had the greatest potential as a turncoat Stormtrooper. I could have used those instead of replacing him with an original character, but I felt like I would have been stealing other people's ideas, weird as that sounds. I would have wanted to come up with something on my own. **

**Snoke is also not in this. This decision I knew I wanted to make from the start. I personally never cared for Snoke from the first time I watched Episode 7 in theaters. To me he was shrouded in too much mystery. As such, I did not consider him intimidating or any sort of threat. I could never shake that he simply felt like "The Emperor 2.0" instead of someone new, and I didn't like that. So, I replaced him as well. If these changes are not appealing to any of you reading this, I don't blame you for choosing not to read my re-imagination, that's totally fine.**

**Two, the way I have written this may seem a little odd to some. Or maybe not at all, who knows. It's written more like a book than a movie screenplay, but I don't write a lot of character thoughts or backstory. Most of the backstory I give is through dialogue. Almost anything that isn't dialogue are just visual descriptions of things: expressions, movements, visual shots, physical descriptions, that kind of thing. I wanted anyone reading this to feel more like they were watching a movie and not reading a book, if any of that makes sense.  
**

**So yeah...sorry for that lengthy introduction. With that being said I hope some of you guys enjoy this rendition of the sequels!****

* * *

Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens [A Re-Imagination]

Luke Skywalker has disappeared.

In his absence, the sinister

FIRST ORDER has risen from

the ashes of the Empire

and will not rest until

Skywalker, the last Jedi,

has been destroyed.

With the support of the

REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa

leads a brave RESISTANCE.

She is desperate to find her

brother Luke and gain his

help in restoring peace and

justice to the galaxy.

A former Jedi hunter has

since stepped in to lead

the Order while training her

apprentice in preparation to

take down Luke...

In the black of space it was quiet for a brief moment, a largely green and blue planet loomed in the distance with a faint glow. But then the large triangular shadow of a space ship eclipsed the light from the planet as it passed over. The Finalizer Star Destroyer of the First Order had been going planet to planet of known inhabitants of key Resistance members, scouring the galaxy for any hints of the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master.

In a grey training room on the Star Destroyer, two figures clad in black from head to toe stared each other down on opposite ends of the room, their lightsabers ignited and held up. One was a simple single-bladed saber, the other was a cross-guard saber, both with red blades. The cross-guard saber had two lateral emitters attached to the end of the hilt from which two shorter blades were ignited. What was especially unique, however, were the blades themselves. They were not a simple straight line; they were jagged, unstable, constantly wavering.

The figure with the single-bladed was a tall human female; ashen-skinned, vibrant dark-red hair, blueish-purple eyes, high cheek bones, and a scar across her lips. She appeared to be in her late thirties. Her outfit looked similar in fashion to that of a standard Imperial officer, with a couple battle armor attachments; black and grey with some red, a matching cape, and the original Imperial crest in white on the left shoulder. She held her saber in a simple guard position stance, intently watching her opponent.

The other figure also appeared to be human and was about an inch or so shorter, their attire completely black; a tunic with a wide belt across, matching trousers and boots, large cape with a hood, and a combat visor helmet. The helmet was somewhat battered and concealed their face, rounded on top with a silver inlay embedded around one long eyehole. They, too, stood in a wide stance, holding their saber almost level to their head, parallel to the floor with the point of the blade aiming right at the woman.

The two of them stood in their guard positions for another second or two. Then the woman ran forward and swung vertically at the masked one, aiming high. The masked one blocked horizontally. The woman attacked again, swinging low and to their legs, her opponent blocked again, and then vice versa. This exchange went back and forth. Attack, defend. Strike, block. It was give and take with the woman more on the offensive than the masked one. The cross-guard fighter notably liked to attack one-handed, for the most part. The woman was easily more experienced, more sure of her movements in this form of combat, yet the masked one appeared to have raw strength in their attacks, keeping the woman on guard.

In the middle of the fight, their blades clashed and they held them there, the plasma from both blades crackling and sizzling at their point of contact. Then, after a brief moment, the woman broke away and stepped back, lowering the saber to her side.

"Good..." she said, her voice raspy. "Always maintain a good guard position. Never falter from that."

A male voice responded through the helmet of the other figure, modulated in a deep intimidating tone. "Yes, Master."

"Perhaps your old teacher knew what he was doing after all."

The masked one was silent for a second before replying with, "He was a fool."

The woman raised an eyebrow with a hint of a smirk on her lips. "Indeed... Be careful not to disregard your enemies entirely, Kylo Ren. You can learn just as much from them as your allies."

Her apprentice gave a slow nod in acknowledgement. "Yes, Master."

She echoed the nod, then held up her saber once more. "Again."

The apprentice held his back up in the same position as before. They were just about to start another round when the door opened and a male human officer stepped in. He, too, was dressed in black with a cap bearing the white crest of the First Order on the front.

"Pardon the intrusion, First Sister," he said with a simple bow. The woman faced him and extinguished her lightsaber, as did her apprentice.

"I've told you before," said the woman, "Lord Vesh will do just fine. The Inquisitors have long since disbanded."

The officer gave a smaller bow in response. "Apologies, my lord. We have received word from our informant regarding the whereabouts of the map."

"And?"

"Unfortunately they did not have an exact location, however they do know who has it. A former Rebellion captain, Han Solo."

"Han Solo..." said Ren.

"Y-yes, sir," said the officer.

Vesh turned to her apprentice for a brief second, an eyebrow raised, before facing the officer. "Did they say where he is?"

"I'm afraid not, my lord. But according to our informant he has a contact by the name Brok Olitar with whom he conducts business. He owns a bulk freighter used for smuggling. Resistance fighters have already set out in search of it."

"Have the informant see if he can narrow down the location of that freighter," Vesh commanded. She then lowered her voice to a softer but rather grave tone, bowing her head slightly and shifting her face to a grim expression. "I need that map obtained. No excuses. The last of the Jedi is within our grasp. I will not have him vanish again."

The officer quickly nodded in unquestionable agreement. "Of course, Lord Vesh." He bowed once more. "Right away." He then turned on his heel and swiftly exited the training room.

Vesh turned to face her apprentice. "Kylo, as soon as you hear an update from them, make haste to that freighter. Report back to me the moment you discover the map's location." She, too, made to exit the training room.

"You won't go with me?" asked Ren.

"I must return to Ilum to ensure our developments are continuing as scheduled. When we seize possession of the map, we'll proceed to begin finalizing them and end Luke Skywalker together."

Kylo Ren gave a nod. "Yes, Master. I will not fail you."

Vesh gave another small smirk, yet appeared pleased with his response. "Indeed." And with that said she exited the training room.

* * *

A great clunky freighter floated in the middle of nowhere, the Eravana. Inside it was much like a warehouse, plentiful with miscellaneous cargo; wild creatures, contraband, unconventional technology, and the like. There were also two X-wing fighters parked in the hangar. The pilots, clad in orange and white jumpsuits, were speaking to a portly human male roughly five feet tall. The man was accompanied by a couple personnel in rough, slightly battered clothing. He was bald but with a scraggly, thick dark beard, dressed in a dark blue jacket, grey shirt, and black trousers and boots.

"That's all I know," he said in a rough low rasp. "You really need 'im that bad, huh?"

One of the pilots, a female, gave a nod, her expression rather grim. "General Organa thinks bringing her brother back is the best chance we have."

"Hmm..." Brok grunted. "Well let's hope you're right."

Just then came what sounded like a sonic boom from far outside the freighter. Everyone in the hangar turned to look. Through the hangar's blue magnetic shield they could see a shuttle that had just emerged from hyperspace. It had a dark grey body with long wings attached on either side. Dread was painted on everyone's faces as they looked on. Without warning, red laser blasts were fired from the shuttle and into the hangar, obliterating the X-wing fighters to nothing and shaking the floor of the bay area and all the personnel on board. This practically left enough space clear for the shuttle to land. Its wings rose to a vertical position and retracted so to fit through the shield. Landing gear jutted out as it lowered and rested on the floor. The fighter pilots, Brok, and the other freighter personnel tensed themselves and readied their blasters for whoever was about to step off as the ramp door lowered. Ten stormtroopers hastily filed out, blasters blazing like wildfire to cover their exit from the ship while return fire from the opposition wasted no time with their weapons. All of the stormtroopers marched out unscathed and continued to bombard the hangar bay with shots. Both sides scrambled for makeshift cover from various cargo containers. However, the pilots and freighter personnel were easily outnumbered. One by one they all went down to the floor, resolving the firefight exchange in a couple short minutes.

The pilots were killed, but the personnel were kept alive. Brok was wounded in the leg. When the firing finally ceased, a new figure, dressed in black and masked, descended from the shuttle and advanced toward the smuggling contractor. The stormtroopers held up their blasters to keep Brok and the other personnel in place. Kylo Ren stopped at Brok's feet and remained silent for a brief moment, Brok grunting and panting heavily in pain.

"Brok Olitar?" Kylo Ren asked.

"Erg..." Brok grunted. "That's right... And who might you be, huh?"

"Han Solo...where is he?"

But Brok was simply tight-lipped, frowning at the masked figure with strong detest. Kylo Ren raised a foot over Brok's injured leg, pressed on it, and Brok winced fiercely. Kylo pressed harder and he howled in pain.

"Where...is he?" he asked, his distorted voice slowly rising.

"I ain't gonna tell ya, you masked freak!" Brok seethed at him.

Kylo held is foot on the leg for another second or two before releasing. Brok leaned back hard, panting once more but with relief. Kylo Ren crouched down to meet him at eye-level.

"No matter... You'll tell me."

He held up a hand, hovering it in front of Brok's face. Brok was confused for a brief moment before his face scrunched in pain, eyes shut tight. He grunted and his breath became choppy and quickened.

Kylo Ren lowered his head a bit, his hand shaking ever so slightly yet never completely faltering. Brok continued to wince and growl in pain as he seemingly tried to fight back. But in a few more seconds it was over. Kylo lowered his hand and Brok's head slumped to his chest, he barely held himself seated with his arm as he took in lungfuls of air. Kylo stood up and approached a trooper with a small orange pauldron on his right shoulder.

"I have the location. He's with two companions on the planet Jakku. When we get there I want a squad sent down to search for them. Solo is to be brought to me alive. Once you have him I don't care what happens to the others."

"Yes, sir," the trooper replied.

"You First Order scumbags..." Brok said through more labored breathing. Kylo turned back to face him. Brok forced himself to stand through grunts, leaning on his good leg. He glared at Kylo Ren. "You'll never win this fight..."

Kylo slowly stepped forward until he was a couple feet from his face. "Is that so?"

"Yeah... No matter how powerful you get...no matter how-"

But Kylo ignited his lightsaber, swiftly raised it high and swooped it right back down through Brok, silencing him forever. His body toppled to the floor, the remaining personnel looked on, horrified.

"Kill the others," ordered Kylo Ren. "We can't have them warning Solo." The stormtroopers did as they were commanded with a few quick blasts from their rifles while Ren marched back to ship, followed by his soldiers.

The ramp door closed, then the shuttle lifted and spun back toward the magnetic field. It passed through and vanished back into hyperspace, leaving the hangar bay of the Eravana wrecked, the pilots and personnel dead on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

A sliding panel opened to reveal the head of a masked figure with beige cloth wrapped around the whole of their head, goggles covered their eyes. The lenses of the goggles appeared to be from a stormtrooper helmet, and a small thin flashlight attached to the side gave off a white-blue light. The figure's head briefly looked inside the small compartment before a hand reached inside. They grabbed and tugged out a rather intricate but small metal component. They brought the piece to their face to examine it, rotating it this way and that for a better look. Evidently they were satisfied with it because they tucked it away. Outside of the compartment, the figure is revealed to be a slender human. Their body was clothed mostly in beige with some white, although it was not quite conventional clothing. Much of it looked to be tattered wrappings and bindings, like gauze or bandages, and some of it was wrapped tight on their arms and legs. They also wore small dark brown boots, a satchel, and a quarterstaff with cloth bindings across their back.

The figure appeared to be indoors someplace dark and hanging along a long metal column, a long rope hung beside them, trailing down a couple hundred yards. In fact, the enormous room - if it were even that - appeared to all be metal and mechanical in some fashion, yet long since abandoned and stopped operating. They essentially climbed the rope in order to reach the compartment. They reached behind them, hanging from one hand, and attempted to place the metal piece they grabbed into the satchel. This proved to be somewhat difficult, however, and the component slipped from their grip. They gave a horrified gasp and instinctively thrust their arm out, still holding on to the column with one hand while reaching out with the one that dropped it...

The metal piece froze in mid-air, a faint rumbling emanated from the immediate area surrounding it. A few shocked breaths echoed from the human, appearing to be confused by what just happened, and they rotated their palm upward, as though expecting to see what caused this. However this then caused the piece to be released from its unseen grip, resuming its descent until it hit the floor with a faint clatter. The human heaved a sigh before grabbing hold of the rope and rappelling downward back to the floor. There was much destruction within this place, whatever it could have possibly been. Several walls, columns, mechanisms and such were torn apart. Beams of sunlight from the outside leaked through various parts of the shredded walls, revealing piles of sand on the floor where the human then landed.

They searched the area around them and found the metal component just a few feet away. They picked it back up and examined it once more. It was slightly battered and scratched from such a long fall, though still intact. The human gave a smaller sigh, yet nevertheless they placed it in their satchel before finally making their way out of the abandoned place, a light from the outdoors being close by.

Upon stepping outside into what was a vast desert before them, the human stuck their quarterstaff in the sand to hold it upright and laid their satchel down. What they stepped out of was one of the ion thrusters of an old Star Destroyer, predating the days of the First Order. They removed the cloth from their mouth and pushed up the goggles, revealing the fair-skinned, hazel-eyed face of a young woman, roughly in her early human twenties, perhaps a bit younger. She detached a metal canteen from her hip, undid the top and held it over her mouth. A small amount of water came out. She looked up at it and tapped on the side to shake loose whatever remaining drops she could before giving up and placing it back. She made to pull her staff back out and paused. She held up and stared at her hand, the one that somehow momentarily stopped the metal component from falling. She gazed at it for a few seconds, her face etched with anxiety. Then she set the thought aside and pulled the staff out, placing it and her satchel on a makeshift sled which was seemingly waiting for her when she returned outdoors.

She slid down a large hill at the bottom of which was a rather bulky red repulsorlift speeder. This appeared to be custom-built and was rectangular in shape with a pilot seat jutting out from one end. A thick net was attached on one side of the speeder, and after the girl pushed off from the sled and removed the satchel she placed all of this, sled and staff included, into the net as cargo. She then seated herself into the pilot seat, brought the engine to life and veered off, gliding away from the Star Destroyer at a high speed. On her drive, she passed by a few other crashed vehicles from a space battle that had long, long since passed. There were a couple X-wing fighters, a TIE fighter, and another Star Destroyer, all collapsed and riddled with sand.

Miles later she finally stopped at a junkyard outpost as evening began to settle in. Here there were several large tented areas which featured miscellaneous booths, places for storage, seated areas for cleaning scavenged material, and a small eating house. There was a little hustle and bustle going on as the girl stopped and powered down her speeder. Several other scavengers, similarly dressed, were either also returning from their own scavenge or were already cleaning their hauls. A few of them were human and there were several humanoid aliens. The girl hopped off her speeder and detached the net from it, letting her haul fall to the sand. With the cloth removed from her head she's shown to have dark brown hair tied in three separate buns lined vertically down her head, the bottommost one was the largest. She grabbed her staff and slung it once more on her back, then tugged at one end of the net to drag her goods toward the outpost.

Inside one of the tented cleaning spots she scrubbed away at the component she dropped, which already looked better to her as she did so. She was able to almost completely buff away the scratches it got from the fall. Seated across from her was another human female, though much older. Wrinkles lined all across her face and her brown clothing was tattered cloth like hers. The girl's eyes went to her when she looked up from her cleaning and slowed to a stop. The woman was simply scrubbing away at her own metal piece as though she had been doing so her whole life. The girl made a sad but small frown upon watching her. Would this be her in years to come...?

A loud knock startled her. A short hooded figure with a wide mechanical head scolded her in an alien language, urging her to keep cleaning. She did so. The hooded figure walked by, as did another human shortly thereafter.

This one was male with ebony skin, black hair, and brown eyes. He appeared to be about the same age as the girl. He wore black clothing underneath a light brown leather jacket with a dark red stripe over the left breast pocket, dark red patch over the front of the right shoulder, and a line of ridges along each of the arms. Two blaster pistols were holstered on him, one on each thigh. A worn dark green backpack hung behind him with some larger metal components strapped to the outside. He walked past the girl, stopped, and turned to her. He wasn't looking at the girl, though, rather what she had. He stared at the scavenged goods for a brief moment. However he was seemingly dissatisfied because he frowned a little before walking on. He approached the eating house and stopped in front of yet another human male who was facing away from him. This one was a little taller than him. It seemed as though he was contemplating on what to get for food as he scanned the booths with his hands on his hips.

"I made a pretty good haul," the young man said, sliding off his backpack and unzipping it. "At the very least we could use these for the Falcon, just in case. But they should definitely be good enough for Brok, too."

The human turned to face him. It was an older man, appearing to be in his mid-sixties. He had hazel eyes and light skin with grey hair that hung an inch or so below his ears. He wore a dark brown leather jacket with a white shirt, brown pants, and dark boots. The years had been kind to Han Solo as he still looked rather handsome for his age, yet there was a frown on his face as he searched through the boy's backpack at the parts he gathered, including the parts attached. He shook his head with a grunt.

"Yeah, but it won't be too lucrative for us if we can't find him a functional power coupling," he said in a gruff voice.

The young man simply nodded, looking optimistic. "We will, I'm sure. Like I said before, I've got a good feeling about it."

Han shook his head sightly, yet smirked. "One of these days, Tatum, you're gonna have to tell me where you get these good feelings from.

Tatum smirked right back. "When I figure that out, I'll let you know."

In roughly the center of this outpost was an awning-roofed blockhouse. In the middle of the blockhouse was a booth, the window of which a few scavengers stood in line for to showcase their goods. When it was the girl's turn to step forward, she presented one of the pieces she gathered. A tall, thick, bare-skinned humanoid stood inside the booth and examined the piece. Unkar Plutt. He had rather pale peach skin, a wide nose, thick fingers, and a frown that seemed to be permanently carved onto his face.

"What you brought me today," he said, "is worth...mmm...one quarter portion."

The last couple words he spoke with such a belittling, disappointing tone, though it would appear the being was rarely ever satisfied. He tucked away the part she presented and slapped something on the counter; a plastic-sealed package of blue-grey bars and some greyish-brown powder. The bars were veg-meat - a sort of protein bar - and the powder was polystarch, which was used to make instant bread. The girl frowned a little at the small food ration and at him, yet said nothing and walked away while the next scavengers in line stepped up.

As the sun set for the day, she glided through the desert to return home somewhere far off from the outpost. Her "house" was inside a downed AT-AT walker. Once settled inside she took a small metal part from a table. There was a sharp point on one end and she made a tally mark scratch on a wall where countless others were made, one right next to the other. After this she removed the polystarch powder from the packaging, poured some water in a small cup and then mixed the powder inside. A fist-sized biscuit of bread formed and rose from the cup in a matter of seconds. She took out the veg-meat, grabbed the bread and planted herself down at a small makeshift table and ate.

Some time shortly after, she was out on the sand just outside her house with her staff firmly in hand. She was in a fighting stance, legs and feet spread a couple feet apart, one end of the staff pointed at an imaginary opponent. She stepped forward and swiped the air, swiped again, swung high, swung to the side, side-stepped and then swung horizontal, crouched low and swiped. She then side-stepped again, rolled forward, and then thrust the staff. She continued to do this aimlessly, attacking one imaginary foe after another. After several minutes passed, she finally stopped. She held up her staff again, gazing at it, then twisted it and split it apart, untying the cloth attached. She set one half on the sand and raised the other in another fighting stance. She echoed the same routine as with the full staff. Only this time, she wasn't merely swinging half a staff, she was wielding a lightsaber. She blocked an imaginary blaster bolt, and then another. She swiped at her opponent, cutting them down. She did the same for another, and without thinking she thrust her palm forward to shove them away. A big gust of air propelled from her hand, blowing away large tufts of sand (as well as the invisible opponent) several feet.

The girl instantly recoiled her hand and sighed with her head titled back and shaking it, her eyes closed...

A distant sound from high above caught her attention then. She searched the twilit sky and spotted a starship sailing off from the planet. She sighed again, gazing at the ship in longing. She had hoped the ship would be landing rather than leaving...but then perhaps it was best not to get her hopes up. After all, she had been waiting so long already... Resigned, she recombined her staff and went back inside.

Not too far from the outpost rested the Millennium Falcon, looking as though it hadn't aged in decades. It was after sunset and Tatum was sitting at the lounge area beside a round game table. A tall Wookie male sat across from him staring down at a checkered table. The creature was mangy-looking, completely covered in brown fur and...well...seemingly naked, save for a bandolier belt which rested from his left shoulder and was wrapped around his torso. He had a dark brown rounded nose and beady blue eyes. His arms rested on his knees as he eyed the table. Leaning against a wall, Han stood watching the two of them with a slight smirk.

On the table were a number of projected holographic monsters, no more than a few inches tall. Tatum also quietly observed it, a hand stroking his chin.

"Rrrawl!" growled the Wookie.

"Hey, I'm thinking, Chewie!" Tatum responded defensively.

"Rawl arr rawl."

"'Got nothing', huh? How about...this?" He pressed a button along the side of the table and one of the monsters walked across to meet another, grabbed them by both meaty claws, lifted them high up, and then pound them twice on the table before it dissolved from view.

"Raaaaawr!" Chewie howled in defeat, raising his arms and shaking them.

"Well," said Tatum with a pleased grin on his face. "Looks like I had something after all."

Han was still smirking, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you, Hotshot."

Tatum shrugged. "Why? It's just a game- Ahh!"

Chewie had picked him up just as the hologram monster did and spun him around above his head.

"I didn't cheat, I swear! Chewie, put me down! We'll do a rematch!"

Han merely laughed at the sight of it.

Later on, in the cockpit, Tatum was adjusting the hyperdrive controls, having removed the panelling to tweak the inside. Once again, Han simply watched, observing his technique. Tatum had a pair of goggles on for protection just in case. He wasn't too worried, however, and neither was Han. He was finished in another minute.

"Nice work," said Han. "Exactly how I taught ya."

"Thanks," said Tatum with a smile that quickly faded. He removed the goggles and replaced the panelling, then turned to face the window, gazing outside. He sighed. Han's brows furrowed a little.

"Somethin' on your mind?"

Tatum was silent for another few seconds before turning back. "Are there any days you regret doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean going back to this life. You were part of the Rebellion, you don't regret..."

He didn't want to say the words, but Han knew and said them for him. "...leaving them?"

Tatum gave a timid nod. Han sighed, tilting his head downward and then back up.

"Kid, I've gone over this before. There ain't no going back for me. Not after what happened."

Tatum frowned yet didn't wish to press on. It did no good to him the first time he asked. Instead he simply nodded in agreement. Han knew the boy wanted to add more to the topic, but was grateful that he didn't. After a quiet couple seconds he nudged his head toward the outside of the cockpit.

"Come on. Let's turn in for the night."

He walked out. Tatum looked after him, remaining quiet with his arms crossed, reflecting on the words Han spoke. After a moment, though, he followed him out.


	3. Chapter 3

On the surface of a lush vegetated planet rested a military base. There were a few hangars aboveground, carved from the planet's natural stone. A couple X-wings and other starfighters rested outside, along with radar antennas scattered around the immediate area. A few more X-wing fighters and transport ships came and went while there was a hustle and bustle of soldiers and officer personnel roaming outside.

In an underground hangar was a room with several computer stations and communication personnel. The computer screens were all transparent had a faint light-blue tint to them, the light of which came from the bottom. The personnel wore greenish-brown uniforms, some of them with headsets while they spoke with someone from elsewhere in the galaxy. One such officer, a young human male with light skin, wavy dark-brown hair and an athletic figure just finished with a call and removed his headset. He let out a short sigh, stood up from his computer and made his way to the middle of the room where two officers were conversing around a round hologram table. Hovering above the table was the hologram of a red gas giant with several moons in its orbit. Both officers were human females: one of them young with blonde hair, the hair tied in two buns behind her head; the other was older, dark grey hair with a braid wrapped around it. The young woman had a standard officer outfit, but the older wore a light blueish-grey shirt under a dark blue vest jacket.

"Excuse me, General Organa," the young man said to get her attention. The older woman turned from the hologram to face him.

"Yes, Dana?"

"Kashyyyk is asking us for more support. The First Order has just taken over the city of Thikkiiana. They've been withholding a number of their supplies they've stolen and restricting access to some of their natural resources."

General Leia Organa frowned and heaved a deep sigh, shaking her head. "Imperial bastards... We can only give them so much. We're spread thin as it is and barely acquiring new recruits. Tell them they have my deepest apologies, but unfortunately there's nothing more we can do for them at this time."

Dana gave a slow nod that appeared somber. "Of course..."

Leia nodded to acknowledge this and returned to her conversation with the female officer.

Dana walked away, made a quick look back at the general and walked on. As he did he nearly passed by another comms officer when he growled out loud and banged on the desk.

"Aghh...damn! Hey Dana, could you help me a second?"

Dana stopped and turned to him. It was a humanoid male, an Abednedo. His skin was reddish-brown, his head sort of oval shaped. The head narrowed toward the mouth and came rather wide near the top where his eyes rested far apart. His nostrils, too, were almost as far apart, a couple inches underneath the eyes. His upper lip stretched over the bottom one, the corners of them resting about an inch below the jawline. Even while seated it was easy to tell he stood a good deal taller than his human companions.

Dana nodded. "Sure, Gruhl, what's up?"

Gruhl shook his head and indicated to the computer screen. "Well one of our sensor radars isn't quite working. I mean it's moving just fine, but if it's scanning anything, I can't tell."

Dana frowned a bit before walking over. "Here, scoot over, let me take a look."

He sat at his chair and tapped some buttons on the keyboard a bit, peering at the screen to scan for the issue. After only a few short seconds of checking he appeared to have found it. He tapped a finger on the monitor to indicate it and have Gruhl see. There was a lengthy series of script and one particular line of it stood out in red.

"See this right here? It's a glitch in the programming, preventing this from communicating with the radar dish. Here, I'll fix it for ya."

He tapped more rapidly on the keyboard, holding a few buttons down during one sequence while tapping a few others. The script rapidly changed, Dana appearing to delete and add a few things to the script to fix the issue. Gruhl sat by and watched, seemingly confused as to what exactly Dana was doing as his eyes went from the screen to his fingers tapping away. In another few seconds, Dana was finished.

"There you go," he said with a small grin. "Should work just fine now."

Gruhl shook his head yet smirked. "I feel like an idiot. Thanks, Dana."

Dana chuckled a little as he stood up. "Ah you're good, Gruhl, no worries. Hey, I'll be right back, I need to make a quick private call."

And with that he walked on, taking yet another glance at General Organa as she was still speaking with the female officer at the hologram table. A rather anxious look crept on his face, but he pushed it away. He approached a humanoid-looking maroon-colored droid with a few simple black markings on its body. Two moderately-sized blaster pistols were attached to its hips. The droid was standing next to some equipment and storage, holding a black touchpad. It appeared to be working on some inventory. It noticed Dana upon his approach.

"Why hello, Dana, always good to see a smile on your face," it said in a mocking tone. The droid had a rather deep male voice.

"Always good to have your emotional support, Jay," Dana replied nonchalantly.

"That is what I'm programmed to do," the droid said in the same tone, not paying attention to Dana as it continued to work.

"I need you for a moment."

"Oh certainly. I was just in the middle of inventorying what we have, but I shall drop it at once for you."

Dana rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Come on."

Jay followed Dana to the back end of the room to an empty computer station. Dana went around to the front of the screen and powered it on.

"Stand in front of the monitor while I make a call."

"You usually never ask this sort of thing of me," said Jay.

"Yeah well I'm feeling a little paranoid today."

"How splendid. I'm quite jealous."

Dana ignored his dripping sarcasm as he tapped away on the keyboard once it booted up. A holo-recorder was attached to the station, a tiny white light indicated it was on. A window popped up on the screen with two empty horizontal bars, one directly underneath the other. They were asking for an administrator name and passcode to which Dana filled in both. Jay simply stood by, pretending to do more work on the touchpad. A dissonant sound buzzed from the station's speakers accompanied by a window with text in an alien language highlighted in red.

"Damn it..." Dana grunted. He then proceeded to tap a couple more more keys, holding them down and tapping a few more in a sequence similar to the one he used on Gruhl's computer. When he finished the message went away, replaced by a different one accompanied by a short beeping tone.

Dana smirked. "Gotcha." He looked up at Jay. "How'm I lookin', J4?"

The droid made a quick glance at the rest of the room. "Still in the clear."

Dana breathed a quick sigh of relief. "Thanks... All right, let's see what we've got this time around."

The screen now showed various miscellaneous files. Dana picked one that appeared promising to him. A new window popped up showing the layout for a heavy-bomber fighter. The vehicle was mostly vertical and looked to be shaped in a "T" formation. There were two gunner positions - one on the back, another at the bottom - and a few repeating laser cannons were attached at fixed points. Dana gave a nod, though with a rather grim look on his face. "This'll do." Typing away again he brought another window to appear over the layout. He made a few more quick typings and a copy of the file moved itself into the other window. Dana tapped one button and the window was cleared before he removed both of them.

"General Organa is approaching," said J4, making Dana's heart sink a little. Thankfully the screen was already blank by the time she came over.

"Dana."

He looked up at her as though he wasn't up to no good. "What's up, General?"

"When you're finished one of our returning pilots could use your help with her X-wing. Her cannon controls seem to have malfunctioned."

Dana nodded and put on a small smile. "Of course! I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Thank you," the general said with a warm smile back and walked away. Dana sighed relief once again and tapped on the keyboard once more. A empty white window appeared in which he typed a short command. After a couple seconds the window background shifted and was replaced by a camera view of what looked like the inside of a similar communication center, this one designed mostly in black. Seated on the receiving end of the camera was a First Order officer in a black uniform. A frown came on his face as he gazed at Dana.

"This is Dana Jayden Inglick," said Dana.

"I.D. code?" asked the officer.

"One-two-one-five-one-seven," Dana replied without hesitation, as though it were routine.

The officer nodded, satisfied with the answer, though had a look of indifference.

"What can I do for you?"

Dana's expression mirrored the officer's, not seeming to care, yet he was still holding back some anxiety. "I just sent a new file to you. Should be worth your time."

"Excellent. Is that all?"

"No. Transfer me to Vesh."

"That's Lord Vesh to you."

Dana rolled his eyes again. "Transfer me to Lord Vesh, if you'd be so kind."

The officer frowned and appeared to resist the temptation to roll his eyes as well.

"One moment..."

The window screen went black. Dana switched the holo-recorder to record and the white light turned red. In another couple seconds a new face appeared in the window. From the other end was a woman with dark-red hair and blueish-purple eyes in an officer-type outfit with a few body armor attachments. She stood in an empty grey room with a stern expression on her face as she looked at Dana.

"What news, Dana?"

From the inside of the room Vesh observed the upper half of her informant's body in his bluish-hologram projection. He spoke softly, undoubtedly to keep from drawing attention from the rebels.

"I just learned that Kashyyyk was asking for more rebel forces but they aren't able to spare any. At least not now."

Vesh smiled at this. "That is good to hear. Anything else?"

Dana nodded. "I just sent one of your officers a copy of a layout. It's for the Resistance's latest heavy-bomber fighter. According to what it says, the exterior seems to be able to withstand a lot of firepower, but they're very slow. Plus the gunner positions seem to be ineffective with attacks from the front and above."

Vesh's smile widened a bit more. "Very good. That information will certainly come in handy. Anything of the map?"

"Nothing yet. But you'll hear from me as soon I do."

Vesh seemed to expect as much and nodded. "Very well. Thank you. Your compensation shall be transferred to you shortly. Continue to keep me up to date on any major developments."

Dana nodded. "Yes...my lord."

Back on the computer screen Vesh disappeared and the window went black once more. He removed it then shut off the holo-recorder and the computer station. He let out a long sigh, thankful for the interaction to be over. He stood up from the station, J4 took notice and finally lowered the touchpad.

"I wager it won't be long until you are caught."

By Dana's guess, if J4 could show emotion, he'd likely be frowning at him. Dana sighed.

"Yeah well...until then I don't really have any other choice than to keep going, do I?"

"In technicality there is always a choice to be made."

"Not if I want to live there isn't."

"A sound argument, DJ." Dana could almost seeing the sarcasm dripping from Jay's voice box.

"Yeah I thought so, too." And with that he left J4 to resume his inventory work as he made his way out of the comm center.


	4. Chapter 4

Ilum was a snow-covered planet far beyond the centermost section of the galaxy in the Unknown Regions. It was once utilized by the Jedi Order. Young Jedi would harvest the abundance of kyber crystals the planet naturally produced in order to power their custom-built lightsabers as a sort of rite of passage. However, since the Jedi had been eradicated at the birth of the Empire, Ilum was eventually occupied by Imperial forces. They, too, harvested the crystals to power the first and second Death Stars. The First Order had retained its control over the planet after the fall of the Empire.

Then it became the home of an enormous facility; several blocks of metallic grey, with some marks of red and black, consolidated into a fortress. Laser cannons were planted at the base as well as a few gun towers positioned different at points of the perimeter.

It was the middle of the day. A swarm of TIE fighters and shuttles came to and from the station. Undoubtedly they were under missions to further increase the First Order's reach and harden their iron grip on the galaxy, restoring what they had lost after the fall of their predecessor.

Somewhere inside the massive facility, Lord Vesh was keenly observing something below her through a large wall-window of a long black hallway, her hands clasped behind her back. From behind her this is shown to be an enormous training room where a series of one-on-one combat sessions were currently underway, scattered and spaced across the room. Six of these one-on-ones consisted of a stormtrooper against a masked bandit-looking warrior.

These bandit warriors were the Knights of Ren. Like their master they were garbed entirely in black; cloaks over lightweight armor, masks covering their faces with some of them embedded with silver inlays. The melee weapons they bore were more crude than the wavering red blade of their leader. Each of them wielded a different vibro-weapon; a blade, a machete, an ax, a cleaver sword, a war club, and a short-bladed scythe. There were also knives, blasters, and/or other small weapons attached to their hips or around their torsos. One such blaster was large and rested across the owner's back. Their attire, enhanced by their unique masks, gave each of them an intimidating appearance.

Some of the stormtroopers wielded riot batons; holding either a baton in one hand and a small shield in the other, or one baton in each. A few of them held a quarterstaff. Both the staffs and batons bore light-blue electrical currents on the ends of them. These could blow back and knock the foe unconscious when hit by them. One such riot baton was larger than the others and consisted of a central shaft with two conductor vanes on one end with the same electrical current. On the other end was the grip with a magnetic grip perpendicular to it. This grip allowed the troopers to spin the baton in combat.

A couple of the stormtroopers toppled to the floor over and over again by the Knight they faced while others managed to remain toe-to-toe with theirs. Each of the Knights seemed to have their preferred style of fighting, likely owed, in part, to their weapon of choice. The batons and staffs had no issue resisting the vibro-weapons as they clashed. The Knights and troopers danced back and forth, clashing weapons, dipping and dodging and rolling, even throwing a few kicks and punches for good measure. Shouts from the Knights are uttered here and there, their voices distorted like their master's.

"Up! Again!"

"Faster!"

"Move your feet, move your feet!"

Vesh looked on, not necessarily displeased yet not quite pleased, either, with the performances of the troopers. She was confident, however, in their ability to improve, as some of them were clearly showing. Having seen enough, she rotated on her heel and walked down the remainder of the hallway, her cape flowing behind her. It was time she met up with the rest of the members of the council, the meeting surely already in session.

In a simple grey office around a black table sat several human men and women dressed in their officer attire. Almost every wall of the room was one giant window, revealing a rather magnificent view of the planet from high up in the facility. Most of the officers were in black, some grey, and couple were in teal.

"As of now, all the systems in the Colonies and the Inner Rim have now returned under our control," said an officer in black; a young man with fair skin and ginger hair sleeked over to one side. "New governors have been reestablished and designated to their own territories within the regions. In addition, the newly-appointed governor of the Expansion Region has just received word from Umbara that they have willingly returned into our fold."

"Oh Umbara would undoubtedly have been a done deal, Governor Hux," said another officer in black, this one a woman a little older than Hux, short black hair with high cheekbones. "They were sure to fall in line with us as Mon Cala did with the help of the Quarren. We must instead shift our focus on the more unruly planets in the galaxy whose inhabitants seem firmly fixed to deny any sort of negotiations. Planets like that of Kashyyyk-"

"I have a plan set for the Wookie home-world," Vesh's voice confidently said as she entered the room. She strolled past the council members and took her seat at the head of the table next to Governor Hux. "Seizing them should cause you no anxiety."

The officer acknowledged her with a nod. "Very well, my lord."

"What we should all really be concerning ourselves with," chimed in a male teal-clad officer with ebony skin, "is the location of that map. So long as Skywalker remains alive, he is our greatest threat to the Order."

"The map will soon be in our possession. I have sent Kylo Ren with a squad of troopers to retrieve it as we speak."

But the officer shook his head a bit. "Hm...forgive me, my lord, but I still cannot place my faith in him. He's too hot-headed."

Hux then stepped in. "Ren can indeed be...irate, yes, but he yields results."

Yet the frown stayed on the teal officer's face. "It will be his undoing at this rate."

"You need not worry about Kylo Ren, General," Vesh said firmly. "I have him under control."

The officer simply nodded, concluding this discussion.

"On a separate note," Vesh continued, "I'm pleased to inform that my Project Vizsla has been proceeding thus far with no complications. Furthermore, I deem it is ready to succeed to the next step: testing the weapons I have ordered to be developed with our soldiers."

A new officer, one in a grey uniform with a rather pudgy face and brown hair, decided to interject by clearing their throat. "If I may, Lord Vesh..."

Vesh gave an approving nod. "Go on, Admiral."

"Well I still don't quite understand why we've been pooling a large sum of our valuable resources into this...program of yours. Something which we don't know for sure will be of any success against the Resistance. I still believe, as do a few others," he nonchalantly gestured to the remaining council, though without specifically singling anyone out, "that we should have spent our time and resources constructing a new grand weapon, preferably around this entire planet. This idea, of course, being based off of something we know has been successful in the past."

"The Emipre," Vesh responded calmly, "has tried a technological terror twice. Have you forgotten what happened both times this was done?" When the admiral merely frowned without a retort, she continued in a dismissive manner. "Just because it would be bigger certainly does not mean it would be better..."

"And what exactly are you proposing, my lord?" he asked, speaking the last two words mockingly.

Vesh faced him with a frown, but then gave her smirk. She stood from her seat and took a couple slow steps toward the admiral. Anxiety quickly fell upon the room like a heavy blanket. She then casually raised her hand as though reaching out for the commander...and he began to make choking sounds, grasping at his neck and loosening the collar of his shirt. A faint low rumbling seemed to sound from the air around his head. Some of the council looked on, holding back fright yet remained dead silent, their eyes frozen on the admiral. The rest simply averted their gaze as though nothing was happening.

"And I'm barely squeezing..." Vesh said in her soft tone. "Imagine what this organization can accomplish if a simpleton like you could perform such an ability. This is what I am proposing. A power insurmountable to the likes of any super-weapon."

She held her hand for a few seconds longer before lowering it, releasing her grip on the admiral. He bent over the table reflexively with a sharp inhale, gulping in relieving breaths and coughing. Relief visibly washed over the majority of the council. A few, like Hux, though, were rather aloof to it.

Vesh returned to the head of the table yet remained standing, her hands clasped behind her back. "My technicians here at this facility have been hard at work for months, perfecting the technology for my project and I have personally overseen every step of its evolution. So I can assure you your resources have not gone to waste... I don't suppose anyone else wishes to share any concern regarding this matter?"

Hardened silence and a few genuine head-shakes gave her answer. The admiral, appearing rather embarrassed at the moment, dared not say anything at all for or against it. Vesh nodded and smiled.

"Good."


End file.
